Ethos IPO: public issue to open on 18 May; luxury watch retailer puts price band at Rs 836-878

Luxury watch retailer Ethos will be launching its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on 18 May. The company on Wednesday said that the price band of Ethos IPO issue will be between Rs 836 and Rs 878 a share, a PTI report said.

The IPO size will be Rs 472-crore while at the upper end of the price band, the public issue is expected to garner Rs 472.3 crore. The public issue comprises of a fresh issue aggregating to Rs 375 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of up to 1,108,037 equity shares.

In a virtual press conference, the company announced that the three-day initial share sale would end on 20 May. 

Through the OFS, Yashovardhan Saboo, KDDL, Mahen Distribution, Saboo Ventures LLP, Anuradha Saboo, Jai Vardhan Saboo, VBL Innovations, Anil Khanna, Nagarajan Subramanian, C. Raja Sekhar, Karan Singh Bhandari, Harsh Vardhan Bhuwalka, Anand Vardhan Bhuwalka, Shalini Bhuwalka and Manju Bhuwalka will sell their equity.

The proceeds from the fresh issuance will be used for debt repayment, funding working capital requirements, opening new stores, and general corporate purposes.

At least 50 per cent of the issue is reserved for Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs), 35 per cent for the retail investors and the remaining 15 per cent for non-institutional investors.

Investors can bid for a minimum of 17 equity shares and in multiples of 17 thereafter.

In fiscal 2021, the company's revenue from operations was Rs 386.57 crore, while its net profit was Rs 5.78 crore.

Ethos has the largest portfolio of premium and luxury watches in India, selling 50 premium and luxury watch brands such as Omega, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger LeCoultre, Panerai, Bvlgari, H. Moser & Cie, Rado, Baume & Mercier, Oris SA, Corum, Carl F Bucherer, Tissot, Raymond Weil, Louis Moinet and Balmain, this report said.

The company enjoys a healthy share of the luxury and premium watch retail market in India.

In Chandigarh, the company opened its first luxury retail watch store in January 2003 under the name Ethos. KDDL is the company behind Ethos.

It has 50 physical retail stores in 17 cities in India in a multi-store format and offers an omnichannel experience to its customers through its website and social media platforms.

The book-running lead managers for the issue are Emkay Global Financial Services and InCred Capital Wealth Portfolio Managers. BSE and NSE will list the equity shares of the company. 

(With Inputs from PTI)